Through the Eyes of a Child
by Akai-Akegata
Summary: Kantarou and Haruka run into a demon who has a grudge against Kantarou, and Haruka finds himself thrown into another world. However this 'dimension' is not as alien as Haruka might have thought. [Shounenai]
1. A Face From the Past

This is one of my first really original ideas. Well at least I hope so… There is always the chance that someone out there has already tried this. Well if someone has, I promise I'm not copying. This is a shounen-ai fic, but it might not be quite what you're expecting. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Tactic's anime, manga, characters, or anything like that.

**Through the Eyes of a Child **

**Chapter One: A Face of the Past**

The tight pain in Kantarou's chest was even worse than usual. Whatever demon was responsible for this disturbance was possessed by an extremely evil aradama. Even as Haruka and he approached the shrine, Kantarou was already panting and sweating profusely. Haruka was worried. He laid a hand on the pale man's shoulder to halt him for a moment.

"Is it that potent?" Kantarou nodded weakly. This was not going to be an easy job.

The shrine was empty, being abandoned by those who attended it. One such individual had come to the Ichiomiya household seeking Kantarou's services. The shrine was haunted. At first it had been an ominous yet dormant presence, but soon after a person disappeared. The body was not found, but there had been enormous amounts of blood on the shrine courtyard.

Kantarou was alarmed by how serious the situation had already become and agreed to help. Now as the exorcist and his tengu companion entered the shrine the young man was finding it difficult to stand. He couldn't even pinpoint a location. The evil seemed to be interspersed throughout the very air. Looking around, there was nothing visually out of the ordinary. Even the bloodstains had been scrubbed away.

Haruka was abruptly aware of strong concentrated presence behind them. He whipped around swiftly and summoned his staff. Kantarou shuddered and clumsily turned to face their opponent. He was only able to glance at the identity of the oni before being falling to his knees in agony. The demon was humanoid, appearing as a full grown man with a dark appearance and distorted features. _That demon was sealed away years ago._ _It couldn't be…_ However, Kantarou felt as if he was receiving the wound all over again and that was enough to confirm his assumption. This was the demon who had given him the scar on his chest. All he could think of was getting out of there as quickly as possible.

Haruka had already placed himself in between the demon and his master. He had never seen Kantarou so handicapped before. The young man's knuckles were white where he grasped his hakama, and his wide eyes were fixed on the ground.

"Get…out… can't face him… not now…" Kantarou's voice was raspy and every word was laced with pain. Haruka was more curious as to what was causing his master to want to withdraw. He knew that the human usually trusted in his ability to protect them both.

"Long time no see, Kantarou-chan." Haruka stared at the oni in shock. How did this filth know Kantarou? "I see my parting gift has remained with you all this while." Haruka looked back questioningly at Kantarou just to see him pull his hand away from his chest. His eyes widened. His master's shaky hand was wet with blood.

"Who are you?" Haruka was seriously alarmed. His couldn't get his head around the situation and it was scaring him. _What the hell is going on? _"Who the hell are you?" Haruka's fist gripped tightly as the demon smirked and bent forward slightly.

"Haruka, we… have to…ah!" Suddenly the demon was gone and when Haruka turned Kantarou was holding the prayer beads up in defense. Without thinking Haruka swung his staff and the demon vanished a second time. He had not even seen him move. He had come between Haruka and Kantarou in the blink of an eye. He now perched upon a stone pillar looking down.

"The infamous oni-eating tengu I presume. So you found your little friend after all Kan-chan. I'm not surprised. However how did you get him to stick around? If I remember correctly you always had trouble holding on to your friends." Kantarou breathing hitched and the demon smirked. Turning to Haruka he gave a mock bow. "It is a pleasure to meet you, I'm sure. However, you are in my way and you will soon find that you are no match for me." Another moment and he was upon Haruka, who would not have had time to block if had not already had his weapon upheld. They fell into an intense mêlée, and the demon, with his quick attacks, soon ripped at Haruka's shoulder.

Kantarou squeezed his eyes shut and shout out a warning, "Haruka, no! Heistoofastgetoutofthere!" He words strung together in effort to get them all out at once. Coherent thought was quickly leaving Kantarou as the pain continued to throb from his chest. Haruka didn't know how this demon fought, and the evil one's rapidity was going to put the tengu at a terrible disadvantage if they did not get out of there quick. Haruka spread his wings and leapt into the air to narrowly avoid another wound. His opponent remained earth bound seemingly unable to follow. Instead he muttered a few dark words met the tengu's glaring eyes. Immediately Haruka's body seized up and he fell to his knees paralyzed. The demon stood for a moment before turning and walking slowly towards Kantarou. Realizing his intent, Haruka struggled fiercely to move but nothing would respond.

"Kantarou, MOVE!" The exorcist reopened his eyes to see a pair of feet in front of him. A long clawed hand hooked under the pale chin and forcefully lifted Kantarou trembling head. The demon was on his haunches beside him, leering at him.

"It's been too long. You thought you had seen the last of me? Well I am finally able to finish what I started so long ago. Good-bye Kan-chan!"

The screams echoed in Haruka's head as darkness encircled him.

How was the beginning? I'm sorry, the main plot does not reveal itself until chapter two but I'm working on that as we speak. Please review and let me know what you think so far.

If you are curious I have updated my profile to inform every one of current projects. (And hopefully it will keep me committed. Heh…)


	2. Here I Am But Where is Here?

A/N: Chapter two is here! If you haven't already noticed this story is pretty much told through Haruka's perspective. It makes things a lot easier. I don't have anything really important to say, sorry. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** do not own the Tactic's anime, manga, or characters.

**Through the Eyes of a Child**

**Chapter Two: Here I Am… But Where is Here?**

An annoyingly bright light made Haruka open his eyes. He was lying on his back looking up into a clear blue sky. It took him a moment to regain his senses_. I was fighting the demon with Kantarou… Kantarou!_ Haruka sat up quickly and looked around; Kantarou wasn't in sight and neither was the demon. _Where am I?_ Haruka didn't see any landmarks he recognized. Only his ripped coat and scraped shoulder confirmed that it wasn't all just a bad dream.

A rustling noise made Haruka look behind him quickly. He stood up with a quite slowness and summoned his staff in case of danger. A small dark-haired boy was looking through the thick undergrowth. He sighed seemingly exasperated. He straightened and placed his hands on his hip frowning slightly.

"He's not here either!" he yelled behind him.

Another voice answered, "He must be hiding like the baby he is! He's so dumb." A second taller boy pushed his way through the brush to stand beside the first. "Let's go home I'm bored and my stomach is starting to growl. Hey guys we're leaving!" There were several shouts of acknowledgement from various surrounding areas. The two turned and started walking in Haruka's direction. The small one was the first to see the tengu, his staff now lowered, watching them.

"Hey mister what are you doing out here? Are you lost?" Haruka looked at the child skeptically before replying with a terse 'no.' "Fine whatever… what's that funny looking stick?" He took a bold step forward and reached out to touch the staff. The brazenness of the two boys irritated Haruka, who drew back and released a low growl. Immediately the taller boy stepped forward.

"Who are you? We don't like strange people wandering so close to our village. Just go on your way weirdo." At this Haruka scowled quickly pointing his staff towards the boys. He summoned just enough lightning to make the top crackle and glow.

"How far away is the shrine?" The boys' eyes went wide and just shook their heads dumbly. "The abandoned shrine, where is it?" Terrified, the boys clumsily took off running. With an exasperated sigh, Haruka ran his hand through his hair and dismissed his staff. He had no idea what to do. Spreading his wings he took to the air to get his bearings. Despite a few villages scattered in different directions there was nothing but natural expanse. Still Haruka was not able to identify anything familiar. The shrine was no where to be seen. Of course some kind of concealing spell could have been used but that only posed more issues than answers. The whole situation was too illogical for him. Questions buzzed through his head as he landed. He gingerly massaged his temples. How long had he been unconscious? How did he get so far away from the shrine? How did he get separated from Kantarou?

Worry for his master returned suddenly. He could still hear the ear piercing scream. _Is he still alive?_ The thought tore at him. A strangling frustration took hold of him as he remembered. _I couldn't even move to protect him._ _I couldn't do anything!_

The sound of rapid movement startled him from his thoughts and he turned to face the noise. Thinking it was the nuisances, Haruka summoned his staff ready to teach them once and for all. A lone figure was running blindly and crashed into Haruka at full speed. The person, nowhere near Haruka's size, fell backwards forcefully. The child let out a startled cry, covered his face with his arms, and started shouting.

"I won't say goblins don't exist. I won't, I won't, I won't!" The voice was strangled with tears. "I'm not a freak! Leave me alone! Just leave me alone!" It was obvious that the outburst was a means of defense and that the child had automatically assumed Haruka was going to hurt him. The tengu took advantage of the moment to glance over the huddled figure. He could see several dark discolored bruises on the boy's pale arms and his clothes were a mess. Haruka quickly concluded that this was not a member of the group he had already encountered and put away his staff. There was something eerily familiar about the fair haired form in front of him.

When the tengu did not respond, the boy slowly lifted his head and peeked out from between his arms. Haruka was greeted by two tearfully bright, red eyes.

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Gasp! Who could it be? Sorry just had to say that. Anyways this chapter might have been a little short or a little slow. I apologize. I will do better in the future. Chapter three is on the way. For now reviews are greatly appreciated!

**To my Anonymous Reader/Reviewer:** Thank you for your review! I know the first chapter was a little disturbing. You have to make your own assumptions as to Kantarou's state back at the shrine. I hate hurting him though... T.T


	3. A Reason to Smile

A/N: Chapter three! I am on a roll if I do say so myself. You all finally get to meet little Kantarou! Don't mix this one up with the one you see at the beginning of the manga/anime. I put a lot of research in before and during a fic. I try really hard to keep everything cannon. I created this character to the best of my knowledge/ability but if you see any faults let me know and I will see if I can fix them.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Tactic's anime, manga, or characters.

**Through the Eyes of a Child**

**Chapter Three: A Reason to Smile**

"Kantarou?" _This isn't possible..._ The figure in front of him could be no older than twelve. However there was no mistaking the distinctive features of his master. _What the hell is going on?_ The Kantarou-like boy had dropped his arms to his sides and was now wide eyed.

"How do you know my name?" The boy squinted at him. "I haven't met you before. You're one of them aren't you? You're another bully!" The boy turned to run, but Haruka caught his hand before he could escape. Haruka gasped when he saw boy flinch violently at his touch. He was trying to cover his face again with only one arm. Haruka had already noticed that bruises, matching those on his arms, also appeared on Kantarou's face and legs.

"Kantarou, you don't know who I am?" The boy shook his head vigorously, and tried to pull free. "I'm not going to hurt you Kantarou, stopping being ridiculous." Haruka was rewarded with a sharp glare, an expression which his master normally did not direct at him. But the circumstances were far from normal. Haruka's grip tightened slightly and the boy gave out a sharp cry. Haruka let go of his arm in alarm and the figure fell unceremoniously in the dirt. The boy quickly drew his legs to his chest and hid his face in his knees. Haruka didn't know what to do with the frightened child. Awkwardly Haruka reached out and lay his hand the child's trembling head.

"I'm not going to hurt you. I just guessed your name because you look just like a Kantarou I know." _Only Kantarou would fall for that excuse._ "You don't need to be afraid of me." For a moment Haruka wondered where this softness had come from. But the action had the desired effect has Kantarou raised his head to peer curiously at Haruka.

"Really? So you're not another bully?" Haruka shook his head. He rubbed his arm swiftly across his damp face and tried to dry what was left of his tears. Looking up again he gave Haruka a skeptical look, "Then who are you? And why are you wandering around so far out here?" Haruka was tempted to ask the boy the same question, but thought better of it. He stood and walked around Haruka as if inspecting him.

Crimson eyes lit up. "You're a goblin aren't you?" Haruka hesitated before shaking his head without fully knowing why. Kantarou looked slightly crushed. Haruka wondered why Kantarou wasn't able to tell he was lying. Didn't he have his own goblin sense?

A sudden question came to Haruka's mind. "You thought I was a bully, could you have meant the boys who were here earlier." Kantarou immediately looked alarmed and glanced swiftly around the clearing. "They're gone now, I must have frightened them." The tengu smirked to himself. _That is an understatement._ Kantarou looked relieved.

"Yeah, they are boys from the village." There was an uncomfortable pause. "Oh well, if you're not a tengu, then you must be a traveler, because I haven't seen you around before. Where are you staying Mister?" Haruka had barely opened his mouth when Kantarou continued. "Oh of course you must have just got here; you can stay with me then! I don't mind!" Haruka marveled at the change that had so quickly come over his young master. He got the impression that Kantarou should not be so easily swayed to trust if the bruises were anything to go by.

"Well let's get moving we haven't got all day. You have a name Mister?" The tengu answered automatically. Kantarou's eyes went huge and he looked Haruka up and down. Then he smiled and shook his head. He waved for Haruka to follow and then set off in the direction of the boys from earlier.

This Kantarou was younger yes, but now Haruka was definite it was same person. However he did not know the trembling boy who had been cowering from him just a few moments ago. Haruka had heard a few allusions to Kantarou's past. He knew enough to assume that his childhood had been less than easy, but now he was seeing it for himself. _Did I just say that? I must have lost it. I can not be in the past. _That just was not possible.

As they reached the town Haruka began to recognize familiar places. After all he had been to Kantarou's home town before, or was it in the future? As absurd as it sounded, Haruka could only guess that he was dreaming or that he was in the past. The realism and detail of it all ruled out the dream option. _Could it really be?_

Haruka almost didn't notice his master stop in front of a house sandwiched between two shops. It was not a small place, but upon entering Haruka could tell it needed work. Kantarou quickly stepped into the adjoining room.

"Mother, Father, I'm home. I want you to meet a new friend. He is very nice, he scared away the bullies." Haruka stepped into the room also, but instead of seeing Kantarou and his parents there was just Kantarou kneeling in front of small but neat shrine. Kantarou lived alone? Haruka felt a pang of sadness witnessing the scene. "This is Haruka. Isn't that funny? He has the same name as my Onigui Tengu!" Kantarou sat silently awhile. "Well I should probably get our guest something to eat." Kantarou bowed before turning towards the taller man. Haruka had never seen such a forced smile. He was that other, unknown boy again.

Kantarou set out into the kitchen to find something for them to eat. Haruka was doubtful on whether he should eat whatever Kantarou made. Yoko had always done all the cooking at the Ichinomiya household. The tengu watched with slight amusement as Kantarou deftly set to preparing a meal. So his master wasn't totally incompetent. Then again how long had he been alone and forced to take care of himself? Wasn't there anybody that could have taken him in after his parent's death? He was also curious about said persons' death, but he was sure that was not something you asked some you had technically just met.

Haruka walked up to stand beside Kantarou and watched his hands as he worked. Looking closely he could see small blisters on the boy palms and fingers. He was pretty sure that those did not come from bullies. Without thinking he picked up one the thin hands turning it palm up. Again the boy instinctively flinched at the touch but seeing the questioning look on Haruka's face he grinned sheepishly.

"I'm an exorcist in training. You get these when you can't quite control your powers. But the only way I'll fix that is to keep practicing right?" He turned back to his work. Again Haruka was surprised with how open the boy was. "You can have a seat in the other room if you like. This should not take too long and then I'll be right out." Haruka nodded stiffly and towards the door way. Kantarou giggled slightly at his serious response. "You don't talk much do you?" Then with an artificial stern expression he placed his hands on his hips. "If I going to be generous and let you stay here, you can at least be sociable." For a moment, Haruka thought he saw Kantarou of the future, standing there and teasing him. He gaped slightly. The boy grinned wider. "Don't just stand there. Out with you!"

To Haruka's amazement the meal was quite well made. He would have to tell Yoko that Kantarou could share some of the cooking responsibilities. He shook his head. How was he going to do that when he was in the past, and more importantly how was he going to get back? His curious encounter with younger Kantarou had made him forget the situation back at his time. Trying to reason through it all gave him a headache. He shook his head again. If he didn't stop thinking his head would surely explode. A snort made him look up. Kantarou was watching him with an amused expression on his face.

"Is something the matter? You seem to be having a difficult discussion up there." A sudden crash startled them both. They ran into the front room in time to here fading laughter through the windows. Haruka looked out the door but the culprits had disappeared. When he came back in he saw Kantarou gently clearing broken glass from the picture that stood in the small shrine. The somber look on the boy's face made Haruka furious. He walked over and helped him clear the mess, making sure the child didn't cut his already sore hands. When they had finished Kantarou gave him a bleak smile of gratitude and the silently went back to their meal, the atmosphere severely dampened for the evening.

Kantarou was meant to smile, tease, and laugh. In a small period of time, Haruka had seen more depressing expressions from the young exorcist than he would have ever thought possible. It made him uncomfortable and it made him angry. As much as Haruka was worried about his master in the future, there was nothing he could do about it for now. On the other hand, he was sure there was plenty he could do where he was. He would make sure this young Kantarou kept smiling.

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A/N: If you are reading this fic and have not reviewed yet I beg you to review now. This is when I'm really going to need feedback. I feel as if I'm going out on a limb with this story and somebody needs to verbally slap me in the face if it sucks.

**Hayama 4: **Thank you so much for your review! You could never know how much those kind of reviews encourage me. It made my day! Thank you also for adding this story to your alert list. I love a committed reader!


	4. Difficult Lessons

A/N: Chapter four! Ummmm… is this too long maybe? Heh... Don't kill me please. I started this one from scratch and I just couldn't stop. Oops? For those who care and bother to read this I thought I would let you know that I have read the first two Tactics manga and have watched all the anime. So that's where all my info comes from. I know more about the anime but I tend to base all I can on the manga. See the notes at the end. ENJOY!

This chapter is dedicated to White Sherry, Arai-Hime, Nikkler, Chakura, Dadaiiro, and Hayama4 my awesome reviewers, and my soon-to-be new beta Barbel!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Tactics anime, manga, or characters.

**Through the Eyes of a Child**

**Chapter Four: Difficult Lessons**

The next day Haruka awoke to a strangely quiet house. It took him a moment to remember all that had happened. Getting up he went to check on Kantarou, who he assumed was still asleep. Haruka found the silence unnerving. He was used to the ruckus of the other Ichinomiya household. When he reached the boys room the door was open and no one was inside. Panicked Haruka rushed downstairs and was relieved to find Kantarou kneeling in front of his parent's shrine staring at Haruka surprised.

"I'm sorry, did I wake you? I was trying to be quite." Haruka shook his head and waited for his heart to stop racing. If he was going to be this jumpy he was sure there would be harsh consequences for his health. "Well seeing as you're up why don't you get dressed, I'll see what I can do for breakfast, and we'll get going." Seeing Haruka's questioning glance the boy blushed and continued. "You're probably going to need some other clothes. I mean you didn't have anything with you when I ran into you last night so I assumed…"

"You don't need to worry about that. I don't have anything to pay for it with anyways." Haruka cursed himself for sounding so cold. Old habits die hard he assumed. Nonetheless Kantarou smiled and winked.

"Now what kind of host would I be if I didn't help you out a little?" His smile faltered a bit. "Besides money isn't a problem here. My parents left everything to me and the business they owned still sends money to me." Then he was smiling brightly again. "Also I got a message from Unkai-sensei. He is in town and would like to meet with me, which means another lesson! You can come with me to if you don't have anything else you need to do." Haruka smiled slightly at the boy's enthusiasm and told him there was nothing else he had to do today. Kantarou blushed furiously, but quickly regained his composure, "You do smile! I was beginning to wonder."

A little later they had set out and were soon inside a nearby tailor shop. A round man appeared from a back room. "Ah! Welcome to my store how may I… Kantarou-san! How may I help you today?" Haruka frowned as the middle aged man approached rubbing his hands greedily.

"It's not for me Kudou-san. I was hoping you could help my friend here." The man had barely said, 'But of course,' before he whisked Haruka away for fitting. The tengu was quickly annoyed by this 'Kudou.' Haruka tried one thing and the shop-keeper was already throwing something else at him. The shopkeeper was obviously wringing this visit for all it was worth and had his customer try on all manner of expensive clothes. The only thing that stopped Haruka from walking right out of there was Kantarou's obvious enjoyment. The crimson eyed child smiled and clapped each time Haruka tried on something new. He even laughed a few times when Kudou had managed to get the dark haired man into some ridiculous outfit. But the boy noticed how uncomfortable his friend was and only let the torture go for a short while.

Before long the two were on the street a few boxes heavier. They had eventually come to a compromise since Kantarou had wanted to get almost everything the tengu had tried on. Haruka had managed to bring the number down, much to Kudou's annoyance. Nonetheless the man was smiling and bowing as they left, telling Kantarou to come back anytime. Haruka saw his master roll his eyes while his back was still towards Kudou, but he turned and smiled and thanked the man politely.

They passed several children on the road. Some gawked at Haruka while others glared and whispered while pointing at Kantarou. The tengu watched his master carefully, but the boy ignored them, facing straight ahead and placing a masking smile on his face. Two particular boys caught Haruka's eye. They were the pests from the day before. They jeered at Kantarou but the soon were met with Haruka's glare and took off running. When Haruka turned back Kantarou was looking up at him with a grateful smile.

They dropped their goods off at Kantarou's house, storing them safely in Haruka's borrowed room. Kantarou met his Unkai-sensei at a nearby inn and greeted him warmly. The man Haruka saw was hardly any different than the one he had seen at the hot springs when his master and he had been investigating the missing children in Sugino's village. There was no wonder Kantarou had been so surprised to see the man still alive if he looked this old here in the past.

"Kantarou, how have you been? I hope you have been practicing." With some embarrassment, the boy showed his instructor his blistered hands. "I see… You have not gotten much better than." His attention quickly shifted to Haruka and missed Kantarou's look of disappointment. "And who is this Kantarou? Is he a relative or friend of the family?" Kantarou introduced the two men to each other. Unkai gave Haruka a skeptical look. He lowered his voice to speak directly to Kantarou, "Don't you ever think before you act child? You let a perfect stranger come into your home when you are living alone? Don't you have any sense of caution?"

Kantarou scowled and answered with a hint of warning in his voice, "I will not have you disrespecting my guest, Unkai-san. Haruka does not deserve your suspicions." An indignant grunt let Kantarou know he had got his point across, and his voice returned to normal. "Besides, Haruka is a big help when were around the other children," he said lightly. This seemed to catch Unkai's interest.

"Is that so?" He looked at Haruka again as if reassessing him. He gave a curt nod of approval. "I suppose you will be accompanying us? Let us go then, time runs short. There are only so many hours in a day." They left the inn and set off towards the forest where Haruka had found himself just the day before. Kantarou told Haruka that Unkai-sensei had him practice in the forest because there was more of chance of running into a real goblin there. Haruka found that hard to believe but nodded in response.

A little ways into the forest, the three came to a clearing. Kantarou was buzzing with excitement and Unkai was muttering to himself about mindless hyperactive chatter. Eventually the aged man was able to get the boy's attention long enough to start a lesson.

"Now seeing as you have not improved since we last met," Kantarou shifted his hands behind his back, "We will start from where we left off. This time try not to get too enthusiastic, we don't want another… accident." Haruka could only imagine what the man was referring to. Kantarou just laughed nervously. "Now recite the chant I taught you, and remember to concentrate!"

A sudden change came over Kantarou. Haruka had seen this many times before when his older master had gone into his 'business mode.' He lost his childishness and donned a more sober attitude. However seeing the change in a child was slightly different. All nervous energy and awkwardness slipped away as Kantarou folded his hands and slowly began the nine word chant. Haruka watched the familiar aura begin to form around the exorcist.

"Rin! Pyou! Tou! Sha! Kai! Jin… ah…!" Kantarou struggled for the next word. Suddenly the concentrated energy that had built up was haphazardly released. The whole clearing seemed to pulse once, before waves flew out in all directions. Even Haruka had to kneel and shield himself from being thrown backwards. When it passed Haruka saw Kantarou down on all fours his hands hissing with fresh blisters. The boy clenched his jaw tightly to keep from crying out. A few tears of pain leaked from the corners of his eyes. Unkai stepped forward with a tin, opened it and applied a salve to the open wound. Kantarou swore and his instructor reprimanded him sharply.

"Did I not tell you how important it was to remember the words?" Kantarou nodded his head vigorously refusing to open his eyes. "You must complete the nine words or you are left with uncontrolled energy." The boy kept his head bent after Unkai had finished tending to his hands. The old man sighed, "Your mind set was much improved. You were much calmer and focused this time. Well done." Kantarou finally lifted his head to smile at his sensei. "Let's keep practicing, alright?" Kantarou nodded again.

By the end of the lesson the pale boy, along with some of the surrounding vegetation was in bad shape. When Unkai had decided Kantarou had practiced enough for the day, he carefully wrapped both of his student's damaged hands. Overall Haruka was surprised by the harshness of the training. If he not known that Kantarou enjoyed learning so much, the tengu might have interceded and stopped the training for the boy's sake. He had no idea what kind power Kantarou was harnessing each time he recited his famous nine word chant and what the risks were if you did not execute the incantation well. It filled him with a manner of respect for the human. With Kantarou's hands successfully wrapped the three made their way out of the forest in silence.

When they had entered the village once again, Kantarou thanked Unkai and he and Haruka head back the house. Finally Kantarou spoke, "I don't know who he thinks he is fooling. He tells me we go to the forest for the chance of meeting a goblin, when I know full well he is protecting me. The others think I'm weird because I say I can see youkai. Come to think of it I don't even know if you believe me. When I was little I was told of the tengu who ate demons. I practice so that I can become stronger and one day find the onigui tengu. If the others saw me practicing I would get a lot of… unwanted attention. So Unkai-sensei takes me to the forest where I can practice without anyone knowing."

Haruka snorted, "You sure you aren't glorifying him a little? The lessons seem difficult and he wasn't exactly lenient much less sympathetic. I can't quite label him as compassionate."

Kantarou laughed, and the sound gave Haruka sense of accomplishment. "Oh Unkai-sensei is a bitter old fossil make no mistake, but he helps me best he can, when he can manage, and without pay. That's a lot more than I can expect from most people around here." Haruka nodded in acknowledgement. "He acts really strict but he really is a kind old man at heart."

Later as Haruka was going to his room for the night he marveled at how quickly the evening had come. It was amazing to think that the Kantarou he was currently staying with had only known him for a little over a day. Already the boy was treating him like a trusted friend. In fact he had been introduced to others as such. Before Haruka was able to ponder for too long there was a soft knock on his door. Kantarou entered somewhat timidly.

"I just wanted to thank you for coming with me today. I realize you didn't have to come to my lesson but it was it was nice having you there. Even though, as you might have noticed, I still need a lot of work." He blushed a little shamefully. "Anyways what I really wanted to say was, tomorrow, we can do whatever you want! That is if you still don't have anything else you need to do on your own." Haruka told him that he didn't know of anything he had to do for a long while. The boy brightened visibly. "Alright it is set then." He stepped out and made to close the door. "We'll do whatever you want." He closed it partly. "We can go to the restaurant down the street they have really good anmitsu."

Haruka remembered last time he had been there. "Alright, tomorrow it is good-night."

"Good-night," Kantarou closed the door. No sooner had Haruka laid down then it was open again. "And ramune, you are going to have to try the ramune!"

Haruka smiled, "And the ramune, but for now good-night, unless you are planning to list everything we can do tomorrow until morning is here."

Kantarou blushed and laughed sheepishly, "Ah… right, good-night!"

A/N: Yeah that was pretty long… Too long? Too short? Too boring? Too weird? Give me feed back people! Please?

**References: (For those who are interested…)**

(I did not put reference numbers within the story because I personally find them annoying. If you would rather have them please let me know!)

**Kudou-san**, apart from being a greedy bastard, is an OC. Really I couldn't care less if you stole him, though I don't know why you would want to.

**Unkai-san** is from the second manga. He is the descendant of those who sealed away the original god of Sugino village. While he is not as powerful as his ancestors I took the liberty of giving him sufficient spiritual powers. I also made him Kantarou's sensei because he was an old acquaintance of Kan-chan's and it they seemed to have the tension of a former teacher/student. You kind of have to have read it I guess…

The **nine word chant** is also taken from the manga. Completed it goes, 'Rin! Pyou! Tou! Sha! Kai! Jin! Retsu! Zai! Zen!' In the anime the subtitles show different translations every bloody time!

The **anmitsu restaurant** is where Haruka and Kantarou meet Yumeyako in both the anime and the manga. Thank goodness the two parallel somewhere! In the manga is called Dessert House Godiva, but I just thought that was odd, not to mention very un-Japanese.

**For those near and dear to my heart: MY AWESOME REVIEWERS!**

**White Sherry: **Thank you very much! bows I am doing my best to keep this story on a good schedule that wont leave my readers hanging too long between chapters.

**Arai-Hime: **Yes, poor Kan-chan. I really do hate hurting him so much, but his childhood was such a tempting story. Thank you very much for you awesome compliments!

**Nikkler: **Yay! A new fan! Thank you for the input on Kantarou's emotions. When I have so little to go on, I sometimes wonder if I am not letting my imagination run away with me. I'm glad you liked it. I most definitely will not quit this fic!

**Chakura: **Thank you for reviewing. I will continue and I hope you continue to read and enjoy!

**Dadaiiro: **You ask all the right questions. Unfortunately if I just told you it would spoil the fun. Keep reading and I'll do my best to keep it interesting!


	5. Come Here Boy

A/N Chapter five! I'm so sorry this was so long in the making. I had planned it out ages ago and even started writing it, but the whole thing was coming out forced, so I stopped. I promised that I would finish this story if it kills me and I meant it! Thanks so much for the encouraging reviews. Each one worked to get me writing again.

This chapter is dedicated to all my reviewers, you have no idea how much your encouragement means to me. I love you all!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Tactics anime, manga, or characters.

**Through the Eyes of a Child**

**Chapter Five: Come Here Boy**

If Kantarou had been excited the day before, his enthusiasm had increased ten-fold over the night. When Haruka came out from his room Kantarou was standing there grinning like an idiot.

"Breakfast is ready! As soon as you're finished we can set out." Haruka gave him a questioning look. "I already ate. You're kind of slow in the mornings, you know?" He laughed and dodged swiftly as Haruka swat at him. Downstairs Haruka ate his meal quietly with little Kantarou's amiable chatter in the background. The boy sat nearby picking at his bandaged hands.

"These are going to be a pain today. I probably should rewrap them so I can actually use my hands." The boy left the room and came back with fresh bandages. Unwrapping the first hand with his teeth, he hissed as the last layer came up off the blistered skin. Haruka winced inwardly at the sight. Then he smirked as he saw Kantarou staring perplexed from the new bandages to his other hand still fully wrapped and unusable.

"Come here," the tengu coaxed with a dramatic sigh. The boy grinned sheepishly but scooted so that he sat closer. Haruka carefully wrapped the small hand leaving the fingers uncovered so that Kantarou would have more dexterity. He did the same with the other hand after carefully removing the old wrappings. When he finished the boy flexed his fingers experimentally. It was slightly painful, but he definitely had the use of his hands back.

"Arigato, Haruka-chan!" Kantarou beamed at the tengu who sat back in surprise. Normally only Youko would use that honorific. "Are you finished Haruka-chan? Let's get going!" Haruka held back a smile as he took another painfully slow drink of his tea. Kantarou was less than pleased with his little game. "Harukaaaa!" The tengu almost choked at the familiar sound. For a second he could have sworn he heard his older master whining at him to help him escape the "clutches" of Reiko-san or an upset Youko-chan. He coughed at the sudden intake of the hot liquid. Kantarou asked if he was alright, but the tengu could tell he was trying hard not to laugh. "It serves you right for teasing me. Now hurry up so we can get going!"

Kantarou started off by giving him a tour of the village. Some places the tengu knew, like the clothing store from the day before, or places that still existed in the future. Others he had never seen before. It amazed him how the boy knew exactly who lived where and the names of everyone they past on the street. He greeted a few and most that he spoke to smiled politely and bowed. Others they passed gave Kantarou hurtful looks or ignored him completely. To them the boy pretended to be oblivious and instead focused all his attention on Haruka.

They had walked a fair distance when they came to the anmitsu restaurant that Haruka remembered going to before… in the future. They sat at a table in the corner and a waitress came to serve them. It was some time after they had received their food that Haruka saw Kantarou stiffen visibly. He followed the boy's eyes to a girl who was being seated with her parents at another table. Outwardly she was quite different from the last time Haruka had seen her but her carefree tone gave her away completely. Haruka recognized her to be Yumeyako, the "childhood friend" of Kantarou's.

"Haruka-chan I just thought of a perfect place that we could eat outside. Why don't we just pay now and go there instead to finish," he ducked under the table as the girl looked in their direction. Hastily the child placed sufficient payment on the table a wrapped the remaining food in the western cloth napkins.

Kantarou led him to a spacious clearing neatly tucked near the edge of the village. "It's a perfect day for a picnic ne, Haruka-chan?" Kantarou spread his arms wide and spun on one foot before falling gracelessly on the ground laughing. "This is much better than that stuffy restaurant. Too many… people in a restaurant," Kantarou's eyes remained fixed on the sky and the smile had faded from his face. He reached his thin hand skyward as if to catch something. When Haruka looked up there was only a bird rising and diving with the wind currents.

Feeling uncomfortable, Haruka sat quietly and began to unpack the food. "If you don't sit up I'm going to eat all this without you."

"Haruka's a meanie!" Kantarou whined but he but he grinned at the tengu. They ate comfortably with Kantarou rambling about this and that as Haruka was accustomed to him doing in this form. Haruka's mind wandered and he once again struck by how easily Kantarou had accepted him when most people were so cruel. "And then she put it on my head! She put the frog—"

"Kantarou don't you wonder who I am?"

"Eh?" Kantarou looked at him quizzically.

"Where I am from? What happened in my past? How I got here?" Haruka was reminded that even he didn't know the answer to the last question. "Most people ask those kinds of things before they let someone in their house."

Kantarou's face went serious for a moment before he smiled at Haruka said confidently, "Haruka is Haruka, ne?"

This time Haruka swore he felt his heart clench at the likeness. His forehead creased in pain as he remembered his older master, who was somewhere in the distant future, in pain and possibly dying. A feeling of helplessness overtook him again. A look from the boy brought Haruka back from his thoughts.

"Haruka, daijobu? Did I say something wrong?" The tengu's face softened at the worry in the young man's voice.

"It's alright. It's just you remind me so much of someone."

"Someone bad?" Kantarou said afraid, "Your face looked so pained." Haruka looked at him with unbridled surprise.

"No," crimson eyes looked apprehensive, "No he's a very," Haruka hesitated and placed a gentle hand on the fair head, "a very good person." Enjoying the contact, Kantarou smiled and leaned into Haruka's hand. He gave a small cry when he leaned on one of his wounded hands. Haruka sighed as Kantarou laughed embarrassedly.

Taking one the smaller hands in his own, the tengu inspected what he could see of the blisters. They were red and inflamed and some of them had ruptured since that morning. Haruka suggested that the go see Unkai for more of the salve that the old man had used on Kantarou's hands the day before. They cleared up their mess and headed off towards the inn.

As they approached they could see large crowds had gathered around the building. Anxious voices rose above the crowd. Haruka caught the word demon from among the nervous din. Kantarou must have heard it too because his eyes widened fearfully. Haruka heard him whisper Unkai's name before running off towards the crowd. Haruka followed after him as best he could, but an ominous presence stopped the onigui tengu in his tracks. It was gone as quickly as it had come but Haruka was sure that he had felt something.

A high pitched scream startled him and he noticed that he had lost sight of Kantarou. He rushed off in the direction he had last seen him. After minutes of frantic searching he found him safely at Unkai side. Unkai was reprimanding him severely and telling him to leave for home at once. When Haruka approached the old man looked up sharply. The tengu was sure he would have had an equal tongue lashing if another screaming had not risen above the noise. The trio hurried toward the noise pushing past spectators chattering in terrified voices.

"Is she dead? Her face is so pale, is there a pulse? She is so cold. She dead isn't she? She's dead!" Unkai finally made it to the front of the group with Kantarou and Haruka close behind.

"Step aside. I said, step _aside_!" Quickly the old man checked the pulse and shook his head. "She's not dead, but she is not well. Someone help me get her inside quickly." There were several protests on going back into the inn. It seems that the trouble had started inside. "I assure you that whatever was there has left for now. Let's get this woman inside before she gets trampled!" The authority in the old priest's voice set the crowd into motion.

"Unkai," Kantarou said softly. His face was deathly pale, "Unkai-sensei, will she be alright?"

"Leave this too me and get home at once! Do you ever listen, boy?" Kantarou recoiled looking hurt and slightly sick. The whole situation was getting to be too much for him. He took Haruka's arm and had turned to go home when a voice from the spectators called out.

"You!" it said repulsed. "It's that boy, that demon child!" Another voice sounded from close by.

"You're the one who talks to devils. You brought this terror, didn't you?"

"You are a plague to this town. Take your witchcraft elsewhere!" The noise rose centered now on the apparent culprit. People pointed at his red eyes and his unnaturally fair hair. The boy clutched Haruka's arm tightly ignoring the pain that shot through his hands. Tears welled up in his eyes as these accusations were made and he was showered with heated glares.

"Silence!" Unkai's authoritative voice rose again over the clamor. "If you are not here to help I suggest you go on your way, _now_." As his voice reached threatening tones, some began to disperse. But the damage had been done. The boy's small frame shook as he fought bravely to hold back the threatening tears. Haruka glared at the crowd and those closest took a step back, but the dark-haired goblin noticed that while his icy looks scared those who hurt his young master, they did nothing to actually help the boy himself.

The tengu knelt softly by the distraught boy and careful wrapped his arms around his small form, pulling him close. The boy gasped, surprised to say the least. Then when he noticed his friend wasn't pulling away he let go of Haruka's arm and sobbed pitifully into his shoulder. The remaining crowd looked uncomfortable, and with a final glare from Haruka they went on their way. He caught a grateful look from Unkai who was retreating into the inn with the unconscious woman.

Not being very good at comforting people Haruka just held the boy until the sobs died down into hiccups. He pulled back a little to view the puffy-eyed child. Kantarou rubbed his arm over his eyes much like he had when the two had first met. He smiled a little through his wet face.

Relieved, Haruka ruffled his hair, "That's better." He was shocked when the boy wrapped his arms around his neck and embraced him again.

"Arigato, Haruka-chan, arigato gozimasu." The words were muffled as Kantarou spoke into Haruka's shoulder, but they made Haruka feel a great rush of affection for the small boy. Carefully the tengu pulled away again taking the boys hand gently as he stood.

"I thought you said something earlier about ramune?"

"Hai!" He rubbed his eyes one more time, smiling more brightly this time. "We can get some right around the corner!" He took off dragging Haruka behind him.

* * *

A/N: I hope that was worth the wait. At least a little bit… Ack, who am I kidding you guys had to wait a long time for this one. Hope you enjoyed. Please review. Flames are welcomed as always. 

I realized after I went over this chapter that I integrated some Japanese. I'm sorry it's kind of a habit so here are definitions if you're confused. There was a time I needed these too, so I not skipping over anything. This is pretty basic stuff but I don't want to confuse anyone!

arigato (gozimasu) – Thank you (so/very much)

ne – In question form normally means something like "right?"

daijobu? – Are you alright?

hai – yes

**I LOVE MY REVIEWERS!** (Individual shout-outs to those who reviewed chapter 4):

**emerald-rei – **One of my favorite authors and artists. I can't tell you how excited I was that you liked this story. Thanks so much for reviewing!

**Hayama4 – **God knows I needed to hear that! Thank you so, so much. I glad that this story is staying true as best as it can. Thanks so much for reading!

**Nikkler – **I loves my readers that review continually. Thank you so much! Your feedback is appreciated.

**Dadaiiro – **Another committed reader/reviewer. You guys are the reason this story is alive. But I swear your questions are killing me. I want to answer you so badly, but it would ruin the story. You ask such great questions!

**soubi-chan – **This chapter is especially dedicated to you because you were the final push that made me realize I need to update. Thank you so much for your avid support and I will try my best to not disappoint you!

**Kyaku-kun – **Thank you so much for reading even though I hadn't updated in ages. It helps remind me that I have readers that I can't let down. I have not forgotten this story; I'm just a really bad procrastinator.

**Katie – **Thank you! I will try to update more regularly.

**Chelley – **Well if you love the softer side of Haruka this is definitely the chapter for you. Thank you for reading!

**midnight-whisper3 – **Yeah, I believe Kantarou really had it rough as a child. Hopefully I'm not overdoing it. I want to keep it believable. Keep me updated with you opinions.

**bloodykazekitsune – **Thank you for the encouragement!

**InuyashanKagomerlovers – **Wow… what to say to a review like that? Thank you very much for the compliments. All my talent (if you can really call it that) comes from reading other's wonderful work. That's the best advice I can give, but if you ever need help with a story I would be glad to be of assistance.

**Miyu-chan – **Thank you very much! I try very hard to come up with original and believable material. Yes I am aware of my spelling and grammar deficiencies. I actually had someone who said they would beta but I haven't heard back from her in awhile. Probably my fault. I read over my chapters at least three times so just bear with me for now. Thanks so much! (Your questions will be answered in time.)

**Persistence Cat – **I intend to complete this fic no matter how long it takes. Thanks for your encouragement. It is greatly appreciated.

**Kyo Akiyamako – **Thank you so much! Your compliments make my day. And yes I am trying to work on my spelling. Thanks for pointing it out. I will fix it ASAP.

**karin1004 – **Kan-chan is adorable isn't he? Thanks for reading!

**lazy fat kitsune – **Yes I bet Kantarou was positively glompable when he was younger. Thanks for reading and for the encouragement!

**NaTsUkO-ChAn – **Thank you! I am working on the grammar, bear with me!

**natt syuusuke – **I think Haruka was sufficiently less bitter this chapter. Don't you agree? - Thanks for the encouragement. As I keep updating, fingers crossed you questions will be answered.


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